5 HOURS 11 MINUTES!!!
That was my average DAILY screen time last week! Do the math, that's over 36 hours for the entire week!
The Impact of High Screen Time
I can’t even begin to tell you how shit that makes me feel. The guilt, shame, fear, and anger that swirls inside me when I contemplate these wasted hours is overwhelming. Moments with my family that I've missed while staring at a screen, the laughs, the conversations, the work I could have done, the nourishing meals I could have cooked, and the memories we could have created together. All for what? It’s such a waste.
Social media has become such a distraction from reality, I know when I feel stressed, angry, anxious, nervous, even happy or excited, picking up my phone is the first thing I do. This has done me absolutely no favours, in fact it just prolongs whatever problem I am facing. Despite being aware of this, picking up my phone is the first thing I do in the morning and it’s the last thing I do at night.
Personal Commitment to Change
I recently watched a clip from Mel Robbins and she mentioned that the average person spends about 20 years of their life on screens. 20 YEARS!!! While this might include productive screen time like working and studying, it should be a wakeup call for all of us. We really need to re-evaluate how we use our devices.
Yes, screen time has its benefits, I’m not denying that, but for majority of us, we crossed the ‘beneficial’ line hours ago, and we are just scrolling mindlessly. You might not see this as a big deal, but for me, it’s a huge deal. I do not ever want to feel like I let my girls childhoods pass me by while I was busy comparing my life with someone on my phone. My kids don’t need me to be more like someone I’m following on Instagram, they need me to be me, they need me to be connected to them, to be present and to create happy memories that will last a lifetime.
Just this past weekend we got outside and did our favourite rainforest walk, we had the best time without our phones (except for a few pics my husband snapped) and it was magical. These moments while my kids are young are precious, and I’ll never get them back. I want to be more present, more connected, and more alive. Staring at a screen is slowly killing our happiness and I’m so over it!
Action Plan: Reducing Screen Time
So what am I going to do about this? Well, I created a checklist for myself and I’m going to work through it to keep this intention to reduce my screen time front and centre of my mind. Next time I pick up my phone to refresh my notifications and see if anything new has popped up I will think twice, and day by day I will get out of this horrid habit I’ve created for myself.
If you want to join me on this quest to reduce screen time, you can download the checklist here.
Join the Journey: Tips and Community Support
I will also be sharing more info around this and what tips I have found to reduce my screen time in my free facebook group.
Do you feel like people in your life need a reminder to reconnect with their lives & put their phones down? Share this blog post on your socials so they can get the detox checklist too! They may not even be aware of their screen time until they see your post, and believe me they will thank you for it.
Have you got any other tips to reduce screen time? I would love it if you shared them with me.
Lotsa love,
Karissa x
